The National Catholic Reporter ran a feature yesterday on Star of the Sea. It is a lengthy piece that details the ugly incident involving Fr. Illo at the March 7 Parent Club meeting and the ensuing Archdiocesan investigation:
Parents, citing pastor's hostility, plan to pull their kids from school
https://www.ncronline.org/news/parish/parents-citing-pastors-hostility-plan-pull-their-kids-school
The article contains a couple of important points. First, it includes the full text of a formal complaint submitted to the Archdiocese. Filed by a group of parents at the meeting, it details a climate of physical and emotional intimidation, incompetence and fear fomented by Fr. Illo. They describe the confrontation as “nearly coming to blows” and urged the Archdiocese to intervene. “The hostile conduct displayed is most definitely not an isolated incident.” A link to the full text of the complaint is available here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/403636731/Request-for-Investigation
Second, the article includes comment from the Archdiocese that the complaint has been placed in front of Fr. Piderit “for his consideration.” This is particularly bad news for Star of the Sea families. Fr. Piderit has long been a strong supporter of Fr. Illo. See the video posted on the Parish Facebook page on Dec 6, 2016 in which Fr. Piderit gives a toast to Fr. Illo for his birthday. It was posted only a few months after Fr. Illo was temporarily removed from the school due to the revelation of his abusive behavior at a previous parish. Cue the video to 2:46 to hear Fr. Piderit’s remarks: “We completely support him. The Archbishop very much wants to get him in a place where he is totally in charge and we have to go through a little bit more pain and suffering, I think, to get to that point.” It is clear in this video, that the Archbishop, his staff and the parish are blatantly disregarding the grave concerns the parents have regarding Fr. Illo’s history with children, as well as totally ignoring the previous internal church evaluation of Fr. Illo as someone with anger issues. If you watch the video further, you will hear Fr. Piderit laud the improved finances of Star of the Sea parish saying,“…there is a wealthy parish in the neighborhood, the income of Star of the Sea is almost equivalent to that wealthy parish.” People “ooh and aah” in response. And THIS is the man reviewing the parents’ complaint. Then, as is likely now, the Archbishop makes it clear that he is going to prioritize patronage over protection of our vulnerable children.
https://www.facebook.com/starparishsf/videos/1158402937589549/
Finally, there is a member of Fr. Illo’s staff quoted in the article saying, “Changes create resistance, and a new school culture is developing under new leadership. The … parents are used to running the school, so having structural organization and a faithful Catholic school community is not appealing to them.” This argument from Illo’s supporters is old and exhausting. What isn’t “appealing” to us is the same thing that hasn’t been appealing to us since 2014: Fr. Illo. His history of emotional abuse of a child, his hostility towards parents, and his fear-of-the-secular-world mentality. Fr. Illo’s history is well documented and this most recent incident with parents only serves to highlight his emotional instability and deep-seeded aggression. It baffles reasonable people that the families of Star of the Sea School should be vilified when all we have ever wanted was to ensure the safety of our children. There can be no two sides to this kind of argument.
Friday was the last day for many families at Star of the Sea. No, it is not the last day of school. It is not even Spring Break. In light of the danger posed to our children, parents are simply leaving the school rather than remaining under the leadership of Fr. Illo. Earlier this year, there were 23 students in the 7th grade. On Monday, there will be 11. It is likely this number will decrease further before the year’s end. Next year, there likely won’t be a 7th grade. There might not even be a Star of the Sea School at all. This is a totally predictable response to the real and present danger posed to students by Fr. Illo.
The Holy Father has been clear. There is no place for those who abuse children or those who protect abusers in the Church. Yet, our Archbishop has an alternate perspective. Those who share his conservative views and who are able to raise money are shielded from scrutiny, even if that comes at the cost of children and families.
We understand that there will be a decision about the future of the school on Monday. We don’t expect representatives from the Archdiocese will come to listen to parents as happened in the first year of Fr. Illo’s tenure. It might be too much to hope that our once thriving and beautiful school will survive. We fear that Star of the Sea will not be the only school to undergo such an assault. We fear that other parochial schools in the Archdiocese will suffer from the same arrogance and naked ambition of the powers that be as Star of the Sea.
Parents, citing pastor's hostility, plan to pull their kids from school
https://www.ncronline.org/news/parish/parents-citing-pastors-hostility-plan-pull-their-kids-school
The article contains a couple of important points. First, it includes the full text of a formal complaint submitted to the Archdiocese. Filed by a group of parents at the meeting, it details a climate of physical and emotional intimidation, incompetence and fear fomented by Fr. Illo. They describe the confrontation as “nearly coming to blows” and urged the Archdiocese to intervene. “The hostile conduct displayed is most definitely not an isolated incident.” A link to the full text of the complaint is available here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/403636731/Request-for-Investigation
Second, the article includes comment from the Archdiocese that the complaint has been placed in front of Fr. Piderit “for his consideration.” This is particularly bad news for Star of the Sea families. Fr. Piderit has long been a strong supporter of Fr. Illo. See the video posted on the Parish Facebook page on Dec 6, 2016 in which Fr. Piderit gives a toast to Fr. Illo for his birthday. It was posted only a few months after Fr. Illo was temporarily removed from the school due to the revelation of his abusive behavior at a previous parish. Cue the video to 2:46 to hear Fr. Piderit’s remarks: “We completely support him. The Archbishop very much wants to get him in a place where he is totally in charge and we have to go through a little bit more pain and suffering, I think, to get to that point.” It is clear in this video, that the Archbishop, his staff and the parish are blatantly disregarding the grave concerns the parents have regarding Fr. Illo’s history with children, as well as totally ignoring the previous internal church evaluation of Fr. Illo as someone with anger issues. If you watch the video further, you will hear Fr. Piderit laud the improved finances of Star of the Sea parish saying,“…there is a wealthy parish in the neighborhood, the income of Star of the Sea is almost equivalent to that wealthy parish.” People “ooh and aah” in response. And THIS is the man reviewing the parents’ complaint. Then, as is likely now, the Archbishop makes it clear that he is going to prioritize patronage over protection of our vulnerable children.
https://www.facebook.com/starparishsf/videos/1158402937589549/
Finally, there is a member of Fr. Illo’s staff quoted in the article saying, “Changes create resistance, and a new school culture is developing under new leadership. The … parents are used to running the school, so having structural organization and a faithful Catholic school community is not appealing to them.” This argument from Illo’s supporters is old and exhausting. What isn’t “appealing” to us is the same thing that hasn’t been appealing to us since 2014: Fr. Illo. His history of emotional abuse of a child, his hostility towards parents, and his fear-of-the-secular-world mentality. Fr. Illo’s history is well documented and this most recent incident with parents only serves to highlight his emotional instability and deep-seeded aggression. It baffles reasonable people that the families of Star of the Sea School should be vilified when all we have ever wanted was to ensure the safety of our children. There can be no two sides to this kind of argument.
Friday was the last day for many families at Star of the Sea. No, it is not the last day of school. It is not even Spring Break. In light of the danger posed to our children, parents are simply leaving the school rather than remaining under the leadership of Fr. Illo. Earlier this year, there were 23 students in the 7th grade. On Monday, there will be 11. It is likely this number will decrease further before the year’s end. Next year, there likely won’t be a 7th grade. There might not even be a Star of the Sea School at all. This is a totally predictable response to the real and present danger posed to students by Fr. Illo.
The Holy Father has been clear. There is no place for those who abuse children or those who protect abusers in the Church. Yet, our Archbishop has an alternate perspective. Those who share his conservative views and who are able to raise money are shielded from scrutiny, even if that comes at the cost of children and families.
We understand that there will be a decision about the future of the school on Monday. We don’t expect representatives from the Archdiocese will come to listen to parents as happened in the first year of Fr. Illo’s tenure. It might be too much to hope that our once thriving and beautiful school will survive. We fear that Star of the Sea will not be the only school to undergo such an assault. We fear that other parochial schools in the Archdiocese will suffer from the same arrogance and naked ambition of the powers that be as Star of the Sea.